A master of comedy!

Chapter 135 Sharpening the Knife! Slaying the Dragon!
Zhou Sheng looked at the old man in the mural, leaning on a cane, standing on the top of Changbai Mountain and looking down at the world. His gaze was so intense that it seemed to melt away the white frost on his eyebrows.

He felt inexplicably moved.

To do something knowing it is impossible.

The will of Heaven is unfathomable, capable of manipulating even a grandmaster at will, causing him to exhaust his lifespan, only to end up with nothing to show for it.

At this moment, the dragon vein of Changbai Mountain is so powerful that it can even shatter the compass in Liu Bowen's hand, making it unprecedentedly strong.

not to mention……

Zhou Sheng saw a tiger demon in the painting. It was a black tiger as big as an elephant, with bright and shiny fur, hidden between the white mountains and black waters, facing off against Liu Bowen from afar.

Its name is Tiger God. It is the overlord of Changbai Mountain and a great demon who has cultivated for thousands of years. Nourished by the dragon vein, its cultivation is unfathomable. It has already survived three heavenly tribulations.

If Liu Bowen wanted to slay the dragon, he had to slay the demon first.

The old man, whose lifespan was nearing its end, simply tapped Changbai Mountain gently with his cane and slowly straightened his hunched body.

That night, the heavens unleashed a deadly intent, shifting stars and changing constellations.

The earth, water, wind, and fire revolved, causing the mountains to tremble and roar for thousands of miles without ceasing throughout the night, making even the stars in the sky pale in comparison.

The tiger god demon, who had roamed Changbai Mountain for nearly a thousand years, has thus perished.

Liu Bowen, leaning on his peachwood staff again, began to set up the Dragon-Slaying Formation, a move he would never regret, a game of chess against the heavens.

The truly dangerous battle has only just begun.

For forty-nine consecutive days after that, heavenly fire would sometimes fall from Changbai Mountain, thunder would sometimes strike, wind and frost would sometimes howl, and gale-force winds would sometimes be like knives.

But that aged figure, like a pillar stabilizing the sea, firmly held the Azure Dragon at its vital point, and the 108 formations it set up blocked all the heavenly punishments.

Even when news came that his descendants had suddenly died of illness overnight, leaving him childless, he remained unmoved, not even lifting an eyelid.

His white hair, covered in frost and snow, danced wildly in the north wind, like an old knife that was about to break, its shape weathered and its sound resonant.

The dragon vein's eyes lost their playful glint and began to show fear and panic.

It seemed to have already heard the sound of sharpening knives so close at hand.

As Zhou Sheng gazed at the old man in the painting, his eyes suddenly stung, as if he could feel the invisible sharpness across hundreds of years.

He understood that Liu Bowen was sharpening a knife, using all his life's learning, his unparalleled cultivation, and even his very soul to forge a truly sharp blade.

Abandon everything, burn everything, only to conquer the heavens and slay the dragon!
Liu Bowen succeeded, but he also failed.

On the forty-eighth day, his lifespan was about to end. Although he had already set up the Seven Star Lamp to borrow his life, it was accidentally extinguished by the Great Xuan Ancestor who came to help.

It was just like the autumn wind at Wuzhangyuan.

It turns out that the Great Mysterious Dragon is also a pawn, a game of fate.

Before the sword was even finished, his life was already waning.

Liu Bowen was about to fail at the last moment, but he managed to glimpse a glimmer of hope in his desperate situation and drew his sword to slay the dragon before his life was over.

That strike did not completely sever the dragon vein, but it severely damaged it, causing it to transform into nine offspring that scattered throughout the world.

From this point on, the dragon energy of Changbai Mountain was exhausted.

Liu Bowen laughed three times, then breathed his last and died, his soul scattered.

There is no past life, nor is there a future life.

……

After reading the story, Zhou Sheng remained silent for a long time, deeply shocked by the heroic spirit of wielding the sword with such courage.

Although Liu Bowen did not triumph over fate, he did manage to achieve a draw.

Is this the true grandmaster of this world?

He recalled the sword strike that cleaved open the Heavenly Gate by Celestial Master Xujing, and the immortal chess game that Zhang Sanfeng had played for twenty-two years on Mount Lu...

I couldn't help but yearn for it.

“The dragon has nine sons, and the dragon vein transformed into nine sons who scattered in all directions. In this vast world, who can gather them all together? No wonder there are so many rebels, yet the Great Xuan remains stable.” Jinse’s words made Zhou Sheng nod.

He finally understood why the Great Xuan Dynasty did not perish like the Ming Dynasty due to Li Zicheng's uprising, and why a plague suddenly broke out in Li Zicheng's army before he attacked the capital.

Even if we survive the plague, there will likely be other natural disasters, or even meteorites or meteors falling.

Because Heaven's will has not yet brought about a change of dynasty.

Li Zicheng was able to create such a great momentum because he acquired Yazi, the second of his nine sons, which was equivalent to obtaining a portion of the dragon vein of Changbai Mountain.

But when he attempted to march his troops straight to the capital and destroy the Great Xuan, that part of the dragon vein could no longer support him.

In this world, the only way to completely destroy the Great Xuan and change the dynasty is to reunite the nine sons and transform them into true dragons.

As Zhou Sheng sensed the golden energy of Ya Zi within his body, a strange look appeared in his eyes.

If he were in a purely ancient world, he might still be interested in conquering the world and vying for supremacy in the Central Plains. But in this world where one can cultivate to become an immortal, he has absolutely no desire to become an emperor.

If people can become immortals, who will be the emperor?

Immortal, carefree and unrestrained, possessing great supernatural powers and boundless magical abilities.

Which one isn't better than being an emperor?

He shook his head. He had no intention of gathering all nine sons to transform into a dragon; he simply regarded Yazi as a kind of protective divine power.

"Huh? The Tiger God isn't dead!"

Just then, Jinse let out a soft exclamation and looked at the mural that followed with a surprised expression.

It turns out that although the tiger god was killed by Liu Bowen, a remnant soul escaped and was trapped in Changbai Mountain until it met a man whose whole family had been killed by government soldiers and who had come to the mountain to seek refuge.

The man was tall and imposing, with a resolute gaze. He seemed like a stone sculpture standing in the wind and snow, exuding an indescribable coldness and hardness.

Zhou Sheng's heart skipped a beat; this person must be the Great General.

"Actually, the first person to be called the 'Chuang King' was Gao Yingxiang, and Li Zicheng was his subordinate."

"At that time, Gao Yingxiang had four fierce generals under his command who were known as the Four Great Generals: Dragon, Tiger, Leopard, and Eagle. Dragon was Li Zicheng, and Tiger was the Grand General, also known as Xiaohu Chen."

"After Gao Yingxiang died, Li Zicheng was then elected as the new King of Chuang."

"A valiant and ruthless minister..."

Zhou Sheng pondered the name as he continued to look at the murals.

The Great General, also known as Xiao Hu Chen, hid in Changbai Mountain to escape the pursuit of government soldiers, but accidentally entered the Tiger God Cave. He was valued by the remnant soul of the Tiger God and taken in as a disciple.

The Tiger God taught him martial arts and skills, and even forged his own thousand-year-old tiger demon body into a precious sword, which he then gave to the other party.

They appeared to be having a good time, but in reality, the Tiger God wanted to possess another body and be reborn.

It possessed Xiao Huchen, telling him that he could borrow its power at any time if he encountered danger. In fact, every time the other party used it, the demonic energy would invade a little more, and the possession would take a step further.

However, Xiao Huchen was sharp-minded and had already realized that he had fought in the south and north for many years, relying solely on his personal bravery and never using the power of the Tiger God.

Until his sworn brother Li Zicheng, together with a group of masters from the Longhua Sect, plotted to ambush and kill him.

Xiao Huchen finally used the power of the Tiger God to fight his way out, but he also began to be corrupted by demonic power.

Knowing that his elder brother possessed the secret of Yazi, he was determined to find Yazi to suppress the remnant soul of the Tiger God. He immediately sent troops to Xunyang, but failed to find him. In the end, in order not to become a puppet, the fierce-tempered man even negotiated with the Tiger God with his life.

Either you continue to sleep, or we all perish.

Tiger God thought he was just bluffing, but unexpectedly, Tiger Minister actually cut off his own head. He was as fierce as fire and would rather die than submit.

The story should have ended there, but Xiao Huchen's actions aroused the interest of another person, the mysterious Lord of the Ghost City.

Zhou Sheng stared at the figure in the mural—wearing the mask of the Emperor of Fengdu, dressed in white robes, holding a golden lamp, and standing barefoot on a lotus flower—and his breath caught in his throat.

He finally met the legendary Lord of Fengdu, a figure who only existed in legends. Although it was just a painting, he inexplicably felt a certain...

What does it feel like to be watched?

(End of this chapter)